UK Sport Finds Olympic Gold Medalists From Your Couch

Think you could slide down an icy track at 80 miles per hour and win Olympic gold? UK Sport is betting you might be right.

For nearly two decades, UK Sport has run Talent ID sessions that match aspiring athletes with sports they've never tried. The program is open to anyone over 17 who applies online. The results speak for themselves: skeleton gold medalists Matt Weston and Tabitha Stoecker both discovered their winning sport through these sessions.

Weston competed in elite taekwondo before switching to skeleton nine years ago. Stoecker worked as a circus performer doing flying trapeze and acrobatics before spotting an Instagram ad for the program.

"I saw an advert on Instagram for the Talent ID process and was selected for skeleton," Stoecker says. "I guess the rest is history!"

The sessions test power, stamina, speed, and agility to match people with sports that fit their natural abilities. Examiners also evaluate mental skills like emotional regulation and handling pressure.

The program has proven especially valuable for winter sports, which many British athletes never get a chance to try growing up. After Weston and Stoecker won gold, the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association received 4,000 applications in just 48 hours.

Paralympics athletes also benefit from the program. Emma Wiggs was teaching when she attended a session in 2010 and matched with sitting volleyball. She competed at the 2012 London Games, then switched to para-canoeing and won gold at both the 2016 and 2020 Paralympics.

Not every sport works for late starters. Technical sports like curling typically require years of practice from childhood. But many Olympic sports reward raw athleticism and determination over early specialization.

Why This Inspires

This program proves that Olympic dreams aren't just for people who started training as toddlers. It democratizes elite sport by creating pathways for athletes who discover their talents later in life or want to switch from one sport to another.

Helen Glover had never touched a rowing boat before 2008. She went on to become a two-time Olympic, three-time world, and five-time European champion.

Dr. Kate Baker, director of performance at UK Sport, explains the approach: "If you're someone who loves a long run and can go forever, then it's sports like cross-country skiing that you're probably going to want to look towards."

The program actively recruits athletes with disabilities too, gathering information about impairments and inviting people to events where they can try multiple Paralympic sports at once. Ben Quilter, a former Paralympic judoka now on the recruitment team, notes that people can acquire impairments at various life stages, making talent identification crucial at different ages.

Glover's advice captures the spirit of the program perfectly: "Just go on, go for it—you don't know what's going to happen."